Unconditionally
by MidnightDreams261
Summary: The war is over, won. They have managed to secure peace for now in the Asgardian realm. Loki is intrigued with Jane and in turn she finds herself slowly unraveling the mystery that is the God of mischief and lies. She always said her favorite movie was the story of beauty and the beast but she never imagined herself living it in real life.
1. As You Are

**Chapter 1: As You Are**

**A/N: SPOILER: Note that this continues from the point in 'Thor: A Dark World' in which Loki is mortally injured and in my version, the dark elves have already been defeated as well. I hope you all enjoy, please read and review :P**

* * *

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO." That horrified yell from Thor made Jane's blood run cold as she watched his brother fall to his knees. Everything had happened in slow motion. They had been victorious, defeating the evil that threatened to spread to midgard and the gods realm. And now, the man who was responsible for the deaths of many innocents, the man she should hate for everything he had done to her race, lay on the ground, clutching his chest, gasping for air. Tears fell, and she watched Thor cradling his head, screaming out in anger as he finally stood up, accepting his younger brothers demise as he moved swiftly in her direction.

She shook her head, disbelieving the raven haired god to be dead, rushing towards his still body.

The asgardian god yelled out, running after her, "Jane! He is gone, there is nothing we c…."

"You don't know that for sure!" She snapped, skidding to a stop in the dirt, falling to the trickster's side.

Blood pooled around him and she touched his wound, the crimson liquid spread over her fingers and she reached for her shirt, not caring that the blood smeared over it as she ripped the fabric.

Her shirt tore halfway up and she turned to Thor who came rushing behind her, "Help me lift him up."

Without argument, he did as requested, grasping his fallen brother with one arm, hoisting his body in the air. Jane quickly wrapped the fabric around his chest, as tightly as she could to stop the bleeding.

"Jane he is al…."

"No there is still hope." Her eyes watered and she refused to believe the alternative.

* * *

Odin rushed from the throne room upon hearing the loud crack of lightning coming from outside, seeing his son and the mortal woman he pinned for carrying another form. As he drew closer, his eye widened seeing Loki's unconscious body.

"My sons…" His normally stoic voice cracked.

"He was hurt saving me…you must heal him father!" Thor all but yelled at him, dropping mjolnir to the ground as they all moved inside the palace.

The old man nodded as the two gently placed his younger son at his feet. "Loki…." He sighed, waving a hand over his still form.

The trickster remained cold, unmoving, no rise and fall of his chest as the wound began to heal itself.

Jane turned her head into Thors chest, tears spilling out onto her cheeks as he held her, his own expression faltering.

A loud gasp for breath filled the room and everyone watched as the god of mischief slowly opened his eyes, sucking in air as he sat up.

"My son…." "Brother..." "Loki..." The voices mingled into one.

* * *

Three months later:

Jane Foster stared out the window, looking out onto the palace grounds. Each day it never ceased to amaze her of the beauty that reflected back. Each day she found herself discovering something new on Asgard, the scientist in her loving every second of it. But part of her missed her home, her friends, and humanity. Here she was surrounded by gods, the only mortal to grace this realm in thousands of years. She was grateful for her experiences and even more for Thor, but she still missed home and he did not seem to get that at all.

She could see him outside in the gardens, lumbering around and gesturing wildly in anger with his compatriots, clearly upset over something.

Her curiosity made her wish she had some sort of way to hear their conversation, watching from afar, unable to read their lips.

"And how does thou fair maiden feel today?" The slick and sinewy voice of his brother filled the room.

Jane gasped, startled at the sudden interruption of her thoughts, whirling away from the window to see the trickster leaning against her doorway, a smirk of amusement on his face.

"Fine….thank you." She spoke carefully.

He had survived the attack thanks to her quick thinking and the allfathers healing powers but the rage he felt knowing he was now in her debt boiled in him. Loki owed no one a damn thing least of all a mortal. But the human had not realized what her actions meant, and secretly, since that day, she had attracted his attention. Why she choose to save him rather than leave him for dead was something he intended to find out. It was one of the only reasons he still remained on this wretched realm with his "family".

For the last three months, he'd secretly kept watch over her when his brother was gone on little meaningless quests with his companions, leaving the little mortal all alone. He observed her, noticing her sadness, how she seemed to stare out at the sky more than anything in her free time if she wasn't reading or writing notes in a worn down little journal she carried around with her.

It amused him that when his idiot of a brother did come back, she tried to talk with him about the things she had written, her scientific observations, only to have Thor give her a blank look, not knowing how to respond and swiftly attempt to change the subject lest he look more idiotic.

Yes, the more he watched the mortal, the more he was fascinated. In many ways, she reminded him of himself.

This one had definitely caught his attention since he first saw her and she greeted him with the slap heard around the world. He owed for her saving his life, and he wouldn't be letting her off the hook anytime soon. No, he had a plan, one which included seducing the mortal into his bed. He would make her his, and she would be at his side when he brought the allfather and his brother to their knees. Soon, very soon.

He broke out of his thoughts, moving slowly towards her, "You wish to know what they are discussing?"

She looked at him in surprise, "Well….yes… but how…."

"Observant." He smirked, "Thor and his idiot friends are planning to do a sweep on Jotunheim to make sure nothing survived, and personally I believe they are just looking for a fight."

"Jotunheim…." Jane said, "That's your h….." She choked on the last word, seeing his eyes darken immensely, narrowing at her.

"What would you know of where I come from mortal?"

Gulping, she responded, "Thor….he told me…."

Loki growled, "That imbecile knows nothing of what he speaks, but yes…..that is where I was born….and left to die…."

In the moment, she saw the anger, the hurt, the sadness, reflecting in his eyes before disappearing. "I'm sorry…..I didn't mean to bring that up."

She stared at the ground, avoiding his questioning gaze.

"You are strange for a human….." The words slipped before he could catch them.

She glanced back up at him, "What do you mean?"

He moved closer, "Why did you save me?"

A shiver ran up her spine and she stared, speechless at him. Why had she saved him? Why had she insisted that his brother take him back to the allfather? The man was responsible for countless deaths, continually attempting to take over the human race, his own family, destructive of everything and everyone in his path, and yet she didn't turn and walk away. She couldn't. No matter his sins, she could not and would not leave him.

Looking at the curious look in his eyes, a flash of something else shone through momentarily. Sheer surprise, surprise that someone would care enough to save him. She knew little of his past, except that it was a haunted one and when she truly thought about it, perhaps there was reason for his madness all along.

"Because I felt you could be saved, I felt there was a chance and I could not just leave you to rot on that planet even if you hadn't survived."

He stared at her, searching her eyes, looking for deceit of any kind. To his own surprise, he found none, just truth.

"Jane I leave tonight for ….." The voice of the last person he wished to see thundered in the room and both turned to see Thor standing outside the doorway, "Brother…." His voice had a hard edge, suspicion.

Jane stepped forward, "Its fine, he stopped in to tell me of your departure."

Again, the mortal left the god of lies speechless, staring in wonder at her as Thor looked between the two of them curiously before going up to her, hugging her tightly to him, "I will be back within a week at the latest."

She tried to hold a smile on her face, her heart dropping.

Loki watched their interaction, finally regaining his composure, a plan forming in his head. "Brother, surely the mor….your intended does not wish to be cooped up here the entire time, why not allow her a trip to Midgard to see her … friends?" The niceties choked him as he attempted to bite back any sarcasm.

His older dim witted brother looked him thoughtfully before glancing at Jane, "Is this what you wish?"

The human looked shocked, her mouth dropped open, staring at the raven haired man. "I….yes…..very much so. I miss Darcy and Erik and I know they are both missing me too, plus all my notes, everything….my research…." She went off on a ramble.

Thor moved away from her and grasped Loki's shoulder firmly, "Then I trust you to escort her there brother, keep her safe for me."

Before Jane could say another word, he moved towards her once more, kissing her swiftly before sweeping out of the room, "I will see you soon my Jane." His booming voice echoed as he disappeared down the hall, mjolnir swinging at his side in his hand.

"Why?" Was the only word she managed to get out, her doe eyes ever curious as she stared at Loki.

The trickster smirked, "Why not?"


	2. Enchantment

'_Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. _

_Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. _

_The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there. _

_Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 21st year. _

_If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. _

_**For who could ever learn to love a beast?'**_

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Enchantment**

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews, hope you all enjoy it as much as I am writing it :D Please keep reading and reviewing! Thanks :P**

* * *

She noticed how all eyes fell on Loki as he descended the steps, people murmuring under their breaths as they watched the prince walk through the gardens. A voice sounded in her ear causing her to jump, "You will do well to watch yourself with that one human."

The voice belonged to the long legged goddess Sif, who leaned casually against one of the many fountains in the area, dressed for battle as usual.

"Thanks but I do not believe Loki will hurt me…."

"You do not know that snake as we do. " Her eyes flashed and Jane took an unconscious step backward.

"Aye, young one, that's one tricky bastard. Watch 'erself milady." Fandral, one of the warriors three, came around, slinging an arm around Sif who scrunched her face in distaste at his manners.

Jane was starting to become irritated. Sure she knew of what Loki was capable of, had seen it first hand, but she wasn't about to sit here and be okay with their manner of speaking about him when he'd saved both her and his brothers life, nearly costing his own in return.

"I can take care of myself thanks. I believe he has proved that he has another side to him simply by the fact that he saved me more than once and without gaining a thing from it. I do not believe he would harm me." And with that, she turned on her heel in irritation, heading back to her room to gather what she had brought with her and leave for home finally.

Fandral and Sif stood in shock, watching the mortal retreat from them hastily.

The god of mischief, stood, hidden within the trees of the luscious garden, watching the entire scene. This mortal was something else, now he was completely sure, she had just stood up to two gods without batting an eye, and over him no less. He smirked, watching her disappear into the corridors leading to her room.

Time to put his plans into action.

* * *

The night brought a chill to the air and Jane hugged the fur cloak the brother's late mother had given her, reveling in its warmth as she picked up her journal from the nightstand beside the huge bed.

She glanced around the room, making sure she wasn't leaving anything important behind before turning to the door, ready to return home.

* * *

Loki stood by the palace doors, waiting for the little mortal. He leaned lazily against the doorframe just as Sif rounded the corner, her eyes narrowing at him as she drew closer, "You best not screw up once again trickster or we will all have your head."

He sneered at her, hearing the tone in her voice, "Do be a dear and shut it."

Her eyes flashed in rage and she drew her sword, leaning close to him, "Careful now Sif, should brother dearest come up he might think you've gone soft for me….we wouldn't want that now would we?" He choked out against her blade, noting the zero space between their bodies.

She hissed, drawing back.

As he raised a brow at her, he watched in amusement as Sif growled angrily, "You do not know anything about me you bastard!"

He couldn't help the snort that escaped him, "Of course…no one can see your undying love you have for my brother."

She snarled and moved away from him, storming out of the palace, cursing his name as the doors slammed in her wake. He so enjoyed their little spats, knowing how the dark haired warrior felt about Thor.

"I am ready." He snapped out of his thoughts and turned to see Jane walking towards him, a small nervous smile on her face.

Without a word, they moved out onto the palace grounds and he turned to her, "Come here."

She looked in confusion, "Why?"

"I won't bite." He reached out, pulling her roughly to his broad chest, "Much…"

She bit the inside of her cheek, "Is this really necessary?"

"If you want to survive the trip to your home, yes." He drawled, and before she could utter another word, the world slipped away. The ground left her feet and her stomach behind as everything meshed into nothing. Time stopped and colors interwove throughout the blackness, she clutched onto Loki for dear life, holding on as tightly as she could, his arms wrapped around her small waist.

"Oh my goddddd…" She felt herself yelling out and then her world stopped completely, blackness consuming her.

* * *

When the world finally stopped spinning, she opened her eyes, hands still clutching the lapels of Loki's clothes.

A low chuckle greeted her eyes and she finally stepped away from the god, seeing the amused expression on his face as she smoothed her hair down which she was sure had been sticking out in all directions.

Swallowing, she slowly turned, seeing the familiar mountains lining in the distance, the cold chill in the air. New Mexico. Puente Antiguo. She was home. A smile slowly spread and she turned to the raven haired god, "Thank you."

A nod was her response as she led the way to her apartment.

* * *

"We shouldn't be in here, this isn't right."

"Shut up will you! She has been gone for months and I just want to make sure none of her stuff is falling to pieces when she gets back from whatever alien world she's in!"

The loud voice of the only female she knew who had a key to her apartment, boomed through the hallway.

Darcy.

"You may want to keep out of sight Loki, I really don't want Darcy to see you because she is liable to attempt to kill you for what you did in New York."

He smirked, moving closer to the door, "I suppose I could change form tem…."

The idea was cut short as the door swung open, Darcy in the middle of storming out with her intern following behind.

All voices coming to complete silence as the two friends stared in shock at each other.

"JANE!" She squealed and all but threw herself at the astropsychist.

"Darcy…" Jane choked out as the other girl finally realized her from the chokehold.

The brunette turned and gasped, staring in shock at Loki who raise a brow in amusement at her expression, "Careful, you may catch flies." He drawled.

Before anyone could speak, her friend marched right up to the god of mischief, the sound of her hand slapping his face echoing across the hall.

"That's for…."

"Let me guess…" Loki groaned, touching his cheek, "New York?"

"Yeah!" She shouted, her hand poised to strike again as Jane grabbed hold of her, pulling her away.

"Why?" Darcy gazed over at her former colleague as they all reentered the small apartment.

Jane sighed, knowing the girl wouldn't budge until she got answers. The intern…Bobby, bob, whatever his name was, sat quietly, observing, attempting to not get in the way.

Both girls took a seat in the living area as well, Loki opting to stand, his serpent colored eyes lingering over everything in the apartment, taking it in while Jane regaled her closest friend with details of her journey, of how Loki saved her more than once, and how she got back home to begin with.

Darcy sat speechless, soaking in every word. "Okay so you got contaminated with some sort of evil goo, Loki came up with a plan which saved you both, then saved you twice more. He almost dies but you saved him. And now Thor is off saving some planet again while expecting Loki to be your bodyguard here?"

"More like he is gallivanting with the warriors three looking for a fight." Loki interrupted.

"And you are supposed to be Jane's protector?" The younger girl asked again.

At this, he noted Jane's faint blush spreading over her face. "I suppose you could say that." He smirked.

Darcy's eyes narrowed at him, "And you have no plans to take over the world?"

"Not right now…not on my list of things to do at the moment." He spoke, half distractedly as he moved towards the TV, his curiosity getting the best of him. "What is this contraption?"

"It's a TV…." Jane spoke, "A box you can watch moving pictures on." Recalling that Thor had no idea what most of the things in her apartment were, she elaborated what it did and he looked only more confused than before as he fiddled with the remote.

Darcy laughed out right shaking her head, "What is it with Gods not knowing what technology is? I thought they would be all super advanced and stuff."

Loki turned from the TV, "We are." And suddenly he was in front of them. All three gasped outright, the intern standing in shock.

"What the hell dude?!" He yelled out.

"Woah…." Both girls said at the same time.

Jane remembered the illusion he'd cast on Thor to save her life on Svartalfheim but seeing this was different when he wasn't using it in the heat of battle.

"That's so cool! I never saw Thor do that!" Darcy said excitedly.

Loki's eyes took on a hardened look, one not missed by Jane as he spoke in a lower volume, "That is because he cannot do the things I can do…."

Realizing that Darcy was about to completely outstay her welcome, she stood up quickly, smiling at her friend and the intern who just looked completely frazzled and out of place, "Okay guys, you can come back tomorrow because I need to get to sleep soon, it's been a very long day."

She could see the disappointment written on Darcy's face as they were both ushered out the door but the girl smiled anyway at the idea of coming back the next day. "Count on it, I want to see more of what he just did! And you better take care of her!" She shouted a warning Loki's way, the god merely bowed his head in acquiescence as he moved towards the bookshelves that lined the wall beside the TV stand.

The door closed, and Jane turned, sighing and stretching her arms.

"You know you really don't have to stay Loki….I know you were forced into this and you must have better things to do than..."

As she rambled on about his not needing to be here, he turned and watched her. She really was different. He was seeing what his brother saw in the mortal and he had not lied. For once in his life, he spoke truth in saying he had no designs on Midgard. No. His plans involved her, making her his and ruling over Asgard and her.

He would not be leaving her side anytime soon and he found it….intriguing that she thought him to be forced, to be doing this out of favor to Thor…..amusing little thing she was.

"I am not going anywhere Jane Foster."

"Jane…"

"Jane." He conceded.

She bit her lip, obviously fighting with herself over something she wanted to say and he moved closer to her, "Speak."

Sighing, she slowly spoke, "The illusion or whatever it was you did to Thor on…." She wasn't sure how to pronounce the planets name.

"Svartalfheim?"

"Yes….and what you just did here…..how?"

Never had anyone in all his life asked how he was able to do the things he could do. As he grew up, he was looked upon as a freak. An outcast. Never one to use swords or blunt objects, not strong like his brother, no brute strength. His magical abilities were always laughed at, scrutinized, and belittled by most….except his mother. Frigga. He squashed the sadness threatening to come up and gazed at the human in front of him, her genuine curiosity washing over her face.

"Magic." He finally responded.

"Magic…." She repeated, trying to wrap her head around it. The scientific part of her brain screamed it wasn't logical, possible. It went against everything she believed, everything she stood for….but so did a lot of what she had just experienced these past few months. "Are there others in Asgard who can do what you can do?"

He sighed, "No, my magical abilities come from my heritage, my true lineage."

She had so many questions, realizing just how little she knew of him, about him, but she could also sense she was treading through thin ice now and backed away from the topic for now, "Perhaps one day you could show me more?"

He stared at her, seeing the curiosity lingering in her eyes. She was making this so much easier for him to completely unravel her. Her eyes begged for the knowledge, the understanding, and with a little coaxing, a little pushing, she would become his in no time.

"Perhaps." He agreed, deciding to keep her at bay for now, all the more to entice her. A smirk hidden on his face as he turned back to her bookshelves.

His long elegant fingers traced lightly over the books which filled her shelves completely, ranging from Shakespearean to physics, and everything in between. The mortal surprised him once more with her taste for literature, each book capturing his attention. He could spend the day alone just going through them one by one.

She watched as he moved along, reading each individual title, letting go of all her previous questions for now. "You read books?"

He snorted, turning back to her, eyebrows raised, "I may be a god but yes I do read unlike my brother, in fact," He murmured, picking out a book, "I spent as much time as I could in Asgard's library."

Her chocolate eyes lit up in surprise, "There was a library there?"

It was Loki's turn to be surprised, "Brother dearest never showed you?"

She shook her head, "I had no idea…."

He sighed, "He never ventured into the library lest he was looking for me." Glancing at the worn out book in his hand, he turned it over, reading the back. 'Beauty and the Beast', judging by its worn out pages and the binding coming unglued, he surmised this must be the mortals most valued book out of her collection.

She moved towards him, seeing him holding the classic tale, "That's my favorite one."

"I fail to see the interest," He flipped it over, reading the backside of it, "a fair maiden finds interest in a literal beast?"

Jane smiled softly, shaking her head, "The fair maiden is Belle, and she makes a deal with the beast after he locks her father up. She gives up her own freedom to save her father, and so Beast allows the father to go free as long as she remains his prisoner for eternity."

He interrupted her, "So this beast, this creature, lives within Midgard and no one takes notice?"

She smirked, "Beast was a human, a prince. He was a selfish prince who refused an old woman shelter from the cold before realizing the woman was a witch. For his mistake, he paid the price by being transformed into the beast."

Loki nodded in understanding, listening intently as she continued, "What makes the story so amazing is that Belle begins to see more than what meets the eye, she sees the man inside the monster. She sees beneath the hardened surface to something beautiful, and slowly they both fall in love."

As she speaks, he notes how her eyes glisten. No doubt recounting every line of the book, a faraway look upon her face as her mind drifts into the fantasy. He recognizes the look, the blissful peace upon her face, for once upon a time, he too felt that, alone with his books.

"Of course you have another man who vies for her hand, he is crude and full of himself and she doesn't want him. Once he realizes her love of the beast, he attempts to kill him and falls off the balcony to his own death. Beast lives and he is transformed in the end back to human, and they live happily ever after." As she regaled him with the story's summary, Loki watched her, an unfamiliar pang hitting him.

_She stood at the edge of the palace grounds, observing the gardens._

_Her golden hair flowed freely and he slowly moved towards her, heart racing._

"_Will you….that is….would you consider going to the allfathers ball with me?" He'd finally managed to choke out._

_Her sneer, the laughter, it sliced right through his heart._

_The laughter of the warriors three, having heard his request from a distance. _

_The blood rushing to his face._

"_Monster…."_

"_Freak."_

"_Why would I want to spend one second on you?" _

_The cruel twist in the young goddess lips as she walked away. _

_His heart breaking to pieces_

He slowly snapped out of his thoughts, memories, pushing them away. He looked back down at the book, deciding to perhaps thumb through the pages, if only to get one step closer to her by reading something she held dear to.

Jane watched him, seeing his face drop, the normally collected god seemingly vulnerable for a moment and she silently wondered what was going through his head. She knew better than to inquire but she could tell it must have been a bad memory, whatever it was.

Just in this one day she had spent with him, she observed someone different than the god who tried to take over her home and her people.

She slowly found herself looking forward to the week she would be spending with him, the idea of getting inside his head and seeing what the god was about intrigued her.


End file.
